after our short break away to Cornwall to see daughter's grandparents. The little car was fun, the drive down was really nice with beautiful views either side of the carriageway, very little traffic and some music to keep us in good spirits. Thanks to an early departure we arrived at lunchtime and were very warmly welcomed by grandma, filled with tea and sandwiches within twenty minutes of getting in and offered maps of the local area to get our bearings. One of my main aims of the trip was to get a good cliff or beach walk in and after a little planning, the following morning I was offered everything I needed to construct a hearty packed lunch, caught the bus up the coast and walked my legs off.
Such was the relentless undulation of the cliffs I really expected my legs to ache like hell the following day but they were fine. I consider the walk to be one of my finest achievements over the past year because I know the climbs and descents would have completely broken me eighteen months ago, and it was definitely a highlight of the whole trip.
The following day was one of relaxation, followed by a trip to the south coast to visit internet friends. It was one of the best nights out in a long time and I definitely plan to meet up with them again. I didn't get horribly drunk - again - which could so easily have happened a year ago. Everyone was so open and confident and funny that I felt so comfortable in their company, which I think says as much about me as it does about them. Again, I'm proud for being myself, not getting out-of-control and getting some lovely compliments, which I accepted graciously instead of letting them bounce off.
The rest of the trip involved visiting the local beach and waterfall and investigating a cave and building an awesome dam, getting well-fed by grandma, buying fish and chips for the four of us, a trip to another beach where our boots were inundated with seawater as it raced up the inlet, a good few beers and chats with grandpa - and daughter calls me cynical! - and a reasonably easy journey home. I had mixed feelings about coming back; everyone loves their home comforts but it was incredibly lovely to be looked after for five days. We wouldn't have received such service anywhere else and I'm incredibly grateful to daughter's grandparents for letting me into their home and treating me like one of the family. When I said this to grandma, she said 'You brought me my granddaughter!' but I know it goes further than that.
I did notice something a bit odd but not surprising: among the multitude of lovely photographs of parents and grandparents and grandchildren and their high-flying son, I couldn't find a single photo of their daughter, my daughter's mother, on display anywhere in the house. Not one. I found it odd because I know that grandma will never, ever lose hope that her daughter will sort her life out, but I'm not surprised because I think deep down she may have come to terms with the idea that it might never happen.
It was nice to get home, even nicer to have the cobwebs blown out and have some different surroundings to explore and enjoy, new people to meet, new conversations to have and new paths to walk. It changed my perspective on my home life somewhat, for the better, and I hope we can get away again, somewhere, sometime over the next year.
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